Xia Junsu – Tarantallegra: Kpop Music Mondays

Xia Junsu – Tarantallegra: Kpop Music Mondays

YES! We didn’t think that Junsu would be able to stay on top of the KpopCharts for two weeks, considering how we couldn’t do a Music Monday last week since we were at the Google Kpop Concert, but Tarantallegra kept the top spot. WOOT! If you haven’t seen it yet, check out Junsu’s video in all its artsy sexual glory:

For starters, some of you might be wondering about the change of scenery. We’re in Canada until June 18th. Yay! We won’t be posting as many videos as we usually post, since we’re trying to kinda be on vacation with our families and what not, but we can’t give up on Music Mondays. Of course not! It’s a bit difficult trying to film them here, though, since we don’t have all of our equipment with us: namely, our lighting. So we had to rely on the sun, which is really, really bright. Ah!

Ok, enough about us, more about the video. Is anyone else really taken aback by this? Not in a bad way, but in a really surprised way? I guess we shouldn’t be surprised because Junsu’s last music video for INNNNNTOOOOXIICATIIOOONN was a jaw droopingly awesome sexy video. This video surprised though, for a few reasons. First, the back up dancers were really diverse in both race and size and that is really realllllly rare to see in a kpop video. I really can’t think of any other Korean music video that had such curvy ladies and brawny guys. There’s usually a uniformity in size and shape, but this video offered us a different approach to sexy backup dancers. Seriously! Most backup dancers are just…backup; not the centre of attention, but a lot of the focus on this video was on these dancers. We loved it!

Secondly, this video was very sexy but it also oozed of an eroticism and sexuality we can appreciate. Not that we appreciate sexy hoses, but we can appreciate the artsiness of it. Have you ever gone to see a play at an art school and the people on stage are doing weird things, like licking each other or fondling each others bodies but doing so while dressed up like purple swans and it’s both sexy but also not sexy? Yeah…I totally wasn’t repeating that from experience *blank stare to computer* Well that’s how I felt watching this video. It was like, yes, Junsu and his dancers are being sexual and touching, but it wasn’t in such a way that was for the sole purpose of making fangirls and fanboys drool at the camera. OH OH! I just thought of another example. One of my favourite music videos ever is Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” Although they are wearing underwear and dancing, there is an emotional rawness present in their very artistic dancing and rolling on the floor as they bang their fists to “I DON’T WANNNNNA BE FRIENNNDSSS.” For us, it injects more meaning into their sexiness than just “I’m hot”. Know what I’m saying here?

Moving along…the third thing we really like about this video is that Junsu is very comfortable with playing around with gender roles and highlighting androgyny. It’s a concept that I think Japan seems very comfortable while Korea only uses it as a joke, like as a special concert event or on a variety show. I don’t think Junsu takes this concept as a joke. There’s nothing really humorous about what he’s doing here. I think he embraces it and takes it seriously, and it’s something we’re not used to seeing in Kpop.

All in all, this video will get banned like there’s no tomorrow, but we’re really happy that Junsu made it anyways. If you’re as big a fan of it as we are, pick up the song via iTunes or get the physical album with a super sexy poster via YesAsia. Boom! And, of course, we’ve got bloopers as always, including some photobombing by the Spudgy and a huge rant on bananas. KEES AND TOUCH ME! RUB MY BANANAS!

never really been a Xiah fan before… and always kinda thought he was one of the “less attractive ones” in DBSK, but holy shit… (sorry for all the swearing haha) i hope he keeps the blond hair and guyliner! it suits him so well! and the dancing really had me glued to the screen… it was a really good dance, and i totally get what you’re saying that it was sexy without being like hey, look at me, i’m trying to be sexy’. somehow i’m not a huge fan of the chorus, but it was a pretty good song nonetheless.

i am super impressed with the whole thing. well done Junsu, well done.

Uhm…Simon does know how Xia’s name is actually pronounced, right? I just have to make sure for the sake of my respect towards him. > < Not that I'm saying he's ignorant in any way at all, and I of course know he likes to make fun of people's names but…just to, y'know, make sure.
Anywaffles, I absolutely <3 Junsu and this song, but…I dunno I think I'm gonna hafta give it to the king this time. My vote is for Rain.
BTW, I LUVED Simon's little meme rap, that was hilarious! XD

You could probably pass on everything except KMM and the interviews, and not stir up too much rage :p
No seriously, please make sure you spend plenty of quality time holidaying with your family. I’ve got exams anyway, and should not be spending so much time on your website >.>

Haven’t watched the video yet, but I was also wondering about the whole androgyny and cross-dressing issue in Korea.
I hear people saying how girly Kpop guys are, all the time, but it wasn’t untill I finally gave in to reading manhwa that I noticed that there was an abnormally large amount of gender-bender, cross-dressing, and pretty boy themes in most of the popular manhwa.
At first I was sorry for guys who were born with girly looks “Oh man I can see them getting bullied already”, but I’ve noticed more and more that some guys actually TRY to look girly because girls like it that way??!! o.O Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in Bangkok (transvetite captial of the world), so I don’t find pretty boys attractive at all, but yea….
I. Dont. Even. Urgh.

Yey! thanks Simon and Martina for reviewing this video. as fans, we are very glad that you like it since it also received some (or a lot of) hate on youtube. haha! they were just not used to it I guess but if you are going to be open minded about it, yes, this video is sexy but it also conveys a lot of other messages like doing what you really want to do.

and I laughed at the part when you said that it will be banned like there’s no tomorrow. they’re already banned in Korea, what more can they do? and if they ban it, it means that the music industry still cares about JYJ which leads to the question, why are you not doing something to hasten the decision on the case of JYJ vs SM?